Without a doubt, I am rejuvenile, not to mention too, that I have some weird connection with Weeds. There are just so many references that I can relate to, or that I already know about like the game “Carcassone,” which was incorporated into an episode. How many people even know or CARE about that? I know about it! And Dinah? They have free internet so I go there when I’m in town. Not too crazy about the food, however. Anyway, maybe it’s because I’m originally from L.A. that I simply see all of the stuff I grew up around. I haven’t lived in L.A. for a long time but it’s always fun to see my home town, a crazy wacko kooky village as it may be.

Back to Rejuvenile. Here’s an excerpt from Publishers Weekly: According to journalist Noxon, rejuveniles-adults who use childhood past-times as “a way of maintaining wonder, trust, and silliness in a world where these qualities are often in short supply”- are proliferating, and unlike other books on the topic of “kidults” (aka “twixters,” “boomerangers,” and “generation debt”), his book says this is largely good. Viewing the bright side of oft-bemoaned evidence showing increasing numbers of young adults living with parents and postponing marriage, Noxon has made an entertaining but incomplete read. In appropriately playful prose, he considers successful adults who play in rock n’ roll nursery rhyme cover bands, attend Disney World without kids, and happily plunk down 10 bucks to see Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie. Avoiding “The Downside of Now” until the end, Noxon almost admits that he isn’t telling the whole story of the rejuveniles: although it’s “nice to think of rejuveniles as freethinking romantics,” which he theretofore does, “it’s clear that outside forces also have a hand in shaping who rejuveniles are.” Those outside forces? Not crushing student loans, a stagnant job market or political age-bias, but “the media.” Of course, Noxon would probably just as soon leave worrying to grown-ups of the old school-he’ll be on the kickball field instead.

Want to get the book? Click the link below.

Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cartoons, Cupcakes, and the Reinvention of the American Grown-up

Step One – Take a little fashion survey. This is so the experts can get a feel for your fashion sense of what you like and dislike. They want to make sure they are catering to your needs, rather than having them tell you, what you like.

Step Two – The experts will send you a recommendation of 5 shoes to choose from. With your membership you are able to receive one pair with free shipping. If you decide you want all 5 pairs of fabulous shoes, additional fees may apply. It’s a small price to pay for shoes picked with you in mind.

Step Three – If you decide you are not satisfied with your order, feel free to return them in the pre-paid shipping label that is provided for each pair of shoes.

If you are still a little hesitant, here is the FAQ’s page to answer all of those questions.

It’s seriously that simple. Kim Kardashian (LOVE her!) is the Founder and Chief Stylist a.k.a. brains behind it all. She oversees all styles, looks and quality of each design. If you know her, you know she’s all about style.

Since it’s still February, American Heart Month, ShoeDazzle introduced their limited edition Wynn deVelle red pump to all of their members.10% of each purchase will benefit WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease. Purchase for a good cause; because looking great shouldn’t be limiting.

1.The best way to my heart is definitely through my stomach. Even better if it’s for breakfast. Make your sweetie pie breakfast in bed! Heart shaped eggs and heart shaped pancakes. Breakfast doesn’t get any better than that.
2.So you took this fabulous picture on your fabulous vacation, what better way to display it then in your very own personalized fabulous picture frame!
3.Every year I received some sort of bead kit to make necklaces or bracelets. It’s a great gift for kids to use their creative side and make something straight from the heart.
4.Get a good nights rest with this cute pair of pillowcases.
5.Hello Kitty jewelry. Enough said.
6. Nothing says I love you more than chocolates and flowers. For the traditional gift-giver, check out these fabulous duos.
7.Apple’s “Love at First Touch” says it all. Buy any of their iPod’s and get FREE engraving! Need some inspiration? They also have a gallery of engravings that you can choose from.
8.Customize a pair of Nike Dunk Low Premium iD Shoe. You decide what colors, where they go and you even get to add an id in 8 characters or less.
9.For the ultimate beer enthusiast, give the gift of beer for one whole year from The Beer of the Month Club. The recipient will receive award-winning microbrews from around the country every month.
10.At Build-A-Bear Workshop you can make your own Be Mine Dalmation (while supplies last) complete with its own heart shaped collar. These are great for your loved ones of all ages.

1. Elf (2003) – Will Ferrell is hilarious in this movie. “Elf is also genuinely funny. Will Ferrell, as Buddy the adopted elf, is hysterically sincere. James Caan, as his rediscovered father, executes his surly dumbfoundedness with perfect aplomb. Zooey Deschanel, as a department store worker with whom Buddy falls in love, is adorably sardonic. Director Jon Favreau (Swingers) shepherds the movie through all the obligatory Christmas cliches and focuses on material that’s sometimes subtle and consistently surprising. Frankly, Elf feels miraculous. Also featuring Mary Steenburgen, Bob Newhart, Peter Dinklage, and Ed Asner as Santa Claus.” –Bret Fetzer, amazon.com

2. Home Alone (1990) – As a troubled and mischievous 8 year old kid, Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) is accidently left at home while his family leaves for their Christmas vacation. When the family arrives at their destination, they realize Kevin is home alone and try to get home as soon as possible. When Kevin realizes he is home alone, he takes full advantage of his situation. He also holds takes care of some burglars who are trying to break into his home.

3. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) – This movie is dark and kind of creepy, quite opposite of every other holiday movie out there. “Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, is bored with doing the same thing every year for Halloween. One day he stumbles into Christmas Town, and is so taken with the idea of Christmas that he tries to get the resident bats, ghouls, and goblins of Halloween town to help him put on Christmas instead of Halloween — but alas, they can’t get it quite right.” – John Reeves, IMDb.com

4. A Christmas Story (1983) – “There’s nary a scene to forget in this near-perfect nostalgic look at where Americana and Christmastime meet. The story of a young boy’s epic quest to get his hands on a Red Ryder BB gun provides the hilarious backdrop for a timeless tale rife with family hijinks, frozen tongues and, of course, sex-oozing leg lamps.” – moviefone.com

5. It’s a Wonderful Life (1947) – Make sure you have a box of tissues ready for this one. “George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot. Capra’s triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming–in the teary-eyed final reel–his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. It’s a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic.” –Robert Horton, amazon.com

The lifeblood of the Super Smash Bros. series has always been the depth of the character lineup that each installment has been able to bring and Brawl not only keeps with tradition, but does it one better. Just as in Super Smash Bros. (Nintendo 64) and Super Smash Bros Melee (gamecube), players can expect to pit their favorite Nintendo characters against each other in head-to-head and multiplayer battles, but instead of insisting on characters exclusively from the Nintendo universe, Brawl adds variety in the form of superstars Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake from Konami’s Metal Gear franchise. This is a first-time addition and one that will delight veteran players and newbies alike. But these two characters are only a sampling of the new additions to the game’s lineup. The other ten come from classic Nintendo titles and bring the complete lineup of playable characters to a whopping 25. Old favorites like Mario, Link, Peach and Kirby are now joined by such exciting newcomers as Wario, Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog. With a variety of new modes, an absolutely epic soundtrack and the ability to play with distant friends through online multiplayer, this is a game gamers will have to break their own fingers to put down.

Get it now

During this time of year of yuletide greetings and all that holiday, snowflaky kind of stuff, I love to make cookies and give them away. After all, it’s the time of year when we eat lots of candy, cakes, chocolates and goodies in general so to add to the festivities, cookies are on my agenda. One of my favorite cookies to prepare are the buttery sandwich cookies with jam inside, called Linzer Cookies. They are so absolutely yummy with a steamy cup of tea or coffee, or with a large icy cold glass of milk. They look like snowflakes…sort of! Anyway, use this cookie cutter set to make your delectable Christmas cookies to bring to work or to give away to family and friends.

G e t   t h e   L i n z e r   c o o k i e   c u t t e r   s e t   h e r e

The set includes linzer cutter and 6 interchangeable center cutter designs. Boxed with recipe and instructions, metal.

Need a recipe for Linzer cookies? Here’s one from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.

Ingredients

* 3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 3 1/2 cups flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup good raspberry preserves
* Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/4-inch thick and cut 2 3/4-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. With 1/2 of the rounds, cut a hole from the middle of each round with a heart or spade shaped cutter. Place all the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes.

Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Spread raspberry preserves on the flat side of each solid cookie. Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with confectioners’ sugar and press the flat sides together, with the raspberry preserves in the middle and the confectioners’ sugar on the top.

Game Features
* New Super Mario Bros. Wii offers a combination of cooperation and competition. Players can pick each other up to save them from danger or toss them into it.
* Supports 2-4 players in multiplayer mode.
* Mario, Luigi and two Toads are all playable characters, while many others from the Mushroom Kingdom make appearances throughout the game. Players can even ride different Yoshi characters and use their tongues to swallow enemies – or their fellow players.
* In some areas, players use the motion abilities of the Wii Remote controller. The first player to reach a seesaw might make it tilt to help his or her character reach a higher platform – and then tilt it incorrectly just to mess with other players.
* New items include the propeller suit, which will shoot players high into the sky with just a shake of the Wii Remote and Mario’s new ability to transform into Penguin Mario.
* At the end of each stage during the simultaneous multiplayer mode, players are ranked based on their score, the coins collected and the number of enemies defeated.

See more information and get it now

The Kettle Krazy Popcorn Popper and Nut Roaster makes a wonderful gift for someone who loves to curl up on the sofa with a big bowl and munch on America’s most popular snack while watching an absorbing movie or favorite TV shows. There’s nothing more comforting and fun than watching your big screen (or little screen!), grabbing a huge handful of popcorn and then stuffing it in your mouth! Okay, some of you might eat one at a time but admit it, it’s fun to try to get a whole bunch in there at once sometimes!

Kettle Krazy Popcorn Popper and Nut Roaster popper quickly pops up to 6-quarts of fresh popcorn in just minutes. There’s a motorized stir rod that moves the corn kernels so they don’t burn, which also means there will be very few, if any, unpopped kernels. When the popcorn’s ready, just turn the bowl upside down and it’s ready for major munching! The appliance also makes up to 3 cups of mall-kiosk-style glazed nuts or roasted nuts, so you can make some Cracker Jacks!

Get a Kettle Krazy Popcorn Popper and Nut Roaster now!

As part of Amazon’s Black Friday Deals Week, Horton Hears a Who is available for $5 between Noon and 4pm today PST ONLY (November 25, 2009)!

Description of Horton Hears a Who
One of Dr. Seuss’ most beloved stories roars to life as never before in this enormous animated adventure that proves “a person’s a person no matter how small.” A playful pachyderm named Horton becomes a reluctant hero when he discovers the microscopic city of Who-ville on a floating speck of dust and embarks on a hilarious adventure to save the town from the dangers of the jungle. Featuring a who’s who of superstar voice talent, including Jim Carrey, Steve Carell and Carol Burnett, this heartwarming hit comedy delivers loads of laughs and tons of fun for the whole family.

O R D E R   H O R TO N   H E A R S    A   W H O   N O W !

An FYI on how it works at Amazon

To receive the instant discount:

1. Add all products described in the promotional offer message to your Shopping Cart.
2. The discount will be reflected on the final order checkout page and will be allocated to all participating items in the Shopping Cart.
3. If you remove any of the participating promotion items from your Shopping Cart or violate any of the terms and conditions listed below, the promotion will be invalid, and the discount will be removed from the order.
4. If you return any of the items involved in the promotion, the discount previously applied to the order will be subtracted from the return credit.

Add Elf to your cart and check out during the time allowed to receive the discounted price.

Click on the photo to get Elf now.

For more Black Friday Deals, click here.

So, back to this blog post about Black Friday. Amazon is having a Black Friday sale online on DVDs of TV shows and lots of movies. This is good because it means you can shop at home on your computer. Yay, that is so convenient!

Check out the deals now.

To receive the instant discounts:

- Add all products described in the promotional offer message to your Shopping Cart.
- The discount will be reflected on the final order checkout page and will be allocated to all participating items in the Shopping Cart.
- If you remove any of the participating promotion items from your Shopping Cart or violate any of the terms and conditions, the promotion will be invalid, and the discount will be removed from the order.
- If you return any of the items involved in the promotion, the discount previously applied to the order will be subtracted from the return credit.

Sadly, many items these days are not meant to last so that you will buy another one over and over again. This is not only bad for the environment because these things end up in landfills, but also, you the consumer waste an exorbitant amount of money over time. This is why I like to recommend durable appliances that will last quite a while.

Enter the stainless steel Lello 4080 Musso Lussino 1.5-Quart Ice Cream Maker. Here’s what people have to say about it:

Fully automatic and precisely controlled by a timer, this machine takes the trouble and guesswork out of making ice cream, sorbet, frozen yogurt, gelato, and frozen drinks at home. Ingredients go into the bowl, the timer is set, two buttons are pressed and about 30 minutes later 1-1/2 quarts of a frozen confection are ready for consumption. Because the machine doesn’t require its bowl to be frozen for hours in a refrigerator’s freezer (like less expensive machines that only churn), it can immediately begin making another batch. If a batch becomes too hard the machine shuts off automatically. Not only does it work professionally it looks the part, as the housing, bowl, and paddle are made of stainless steel for sanitation and easy cleaning. The 100-watt machine measures 12 inches wide, 11 inches high, and 18 inches deep, and it weighs 38 pounds. Made it Italy, it carries a one-year warranty against defects. An instruction booklet with many recipes is included.

Find out more about it

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A few restriction apply. Your stay is for personal travel only and must be reserved within 90 days of the booking date. To note: should there be a big event going on in town and the Fairmont thinks they can get higher rates, the promo code might only give you a tiny discount. So make sure to check what’s going on in town and make sure the rates would be relatively low so you can get a good deal using the discount code.

You also need to use a Booker ID # to book it. Use this code upon Step 3 of your online reservation 54807046. (Hotel Chatter’s affiliate number, I suppose. This is where I found the news item).

Get it now!

Get Your Sweetie Mouthwatering Chocolates for Valentine’s Day NOW

Citrus Infused, Jumbo Lump Crabcake

Beef and Mushroom Turnover

Fresh Sea Scallops in Bacon

and how can we forget about the American Duo. This is a must have at your party.

These are just a few samples of what is available. There are many more yummy appetizers to choose from like Philly Cheesesteak Springrolls, meatballs, paninis, dumplings, reuben sandwiches, ham and swiss puffs, mufalettas, chicken and cheese enchiladas and more! Too meaty you say? Don’t worry there’s lots of veggie items: Artichoke & Spinach Filo Tartlets, Asparagus Rollups, Porcini Risotto Croquettes, Vegetable Spring Rolls, Potato Pancakes (Latkes), Crescent Puffs -Sundried Tomato & Feta and more.

They’re easy to prepare and you can order for as many guests as you need. Reasonable prices, too.

I’m hungry now.

Order your Superbowl Appetizers Now

Next up, a newly redesigned iPod touch, still in 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB capacities. New features include a built-in speaker as well as a contoured, polished stainless steel design. Third, the iPod classic is now available in 120 GB of storage–that’s 30,000 songs or 150 hours of video. It’s available in black and silver. And finally, the second-generation shuffle is available in a new bright blue, bright green, and pink.

All of the new iPods–almost 30 in all–come with the new Genius Playlist feature that finds the songs in your music library that go great together and makes a Genius Playlist for you. It’s like having your own highly intelligent, personal DJ. Find out everything there is to know about these new iPods on the product detail pages.

Want more information?

Check out the newest iPods now

About the Synthesizer
The Yamaha S90 ES combines a stunningly natural acoustic piano sound with all the sonic flexibility of the award winning Motif ES. A new multi-velocity, stereogrand piano sample, the new sound board simulation and the half-damper capability (when used with the Yamaha FC3) all ensure a rich and realistic acoustic piano sound. The 128 note polyphony tone generator, Studio Connections compatibility, mLAN expansion slot, and PLG expandability give it all the synthesis power and control capabilities of our Motif ES line.

Get Your Yamaha 88-Key Synthesizer Now

Order Your Non Toxic Water Color Paint Set Now

About Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks lived in its own bizarre, dark, amazing, fantasy world, fresh from the mind of creator David Lynch. The extra features on this Gold Box edition (which includes both seasons and the long-awaited pilot) intend to draw you into the milieu surrounding the world of the story, and offer you a glimpse into the gestation and making of the show, while gently poking fun at itself. To quote Lynch at the beginning of A Slice of David Lynch, “This is the strangest damn thing.” He’s referring to the act of sitting on a set in Los Angeles, drinking coffee and eating cherry pie with cast members Madchen Amick, Kyle MacLachlan, and personal assistant John Wentworth years after the show ended. But he may as well have also been referring to the show itself, and to the enormous popular phenomenon it accidentally became. As can be inferred from the title, A Slice of Lynch is a glimpse inside the creative mind of Lynch through his interactions with his old stars and assistant, and watching this, you can’t help but understand that Lynch operates on a different plain from normal humanity, and his artistic process, while often befuddling, yields incredibly original results to a degree that almost boggles the mind; happy accidents seem to stem from almost every artistic decision he makes. The strength of this feature is that it makes it clear that the world of Twin Peaks really existed, it just happened to live in the minds of David Lynch and co-writer Mark Frost. Twin Peaks Festival is almost an afterthought, it doesn’t fit with the rest of the features in depth or insight, but curious fans will get a kick out of seeing what happens when the most rabid, hardcore Twin Peaks gather in the Northwest–on the sights of many of the show’s scenes–for a fan festival that beats the heck out of any Star Trek convention. Secrets from Another Place: Creating Twin Peaks offers a meaty, four-part look into how the show came about, the filming of both seasons, and the creation of the music by composer Angelo Badalamenti and singer Julee Cruise. Black Lodge Archive features six different items ranging from the “Falling” music video to bumpers and galleries that don’t do much to offer insight into the show, but they offer an unexpected, added bonus: watching Agent Cooper hawk Georgia Coffee in ads that aired only in Japan. They are quite possibly more hilarious and bizarre than anything in the show itself. The features do a great job of reminding an old audience, and explaining to a new one, why the show had such a devoted following. To quote one actress from the show: “It was unique, it came at a time when television was boring… there was nothing else like it on television.”

Get Twin Peaks – The Definitive Gold Box Edition (The Complete Series)

Cute Obama T-Shirts

About the book
Amazon Best of the Month, November 2008: Now that he’s gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the “self-made man,” he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don’t arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: “they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot.” Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, “some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky.”

Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to master a skill, why the descendents of Jewish immigrant garment workers became the most powerful lawyers in New York, how a pilots’ culture impacts their crash record, how a centuries-old culture of rice farming helps Asian kids master math. But there’s more to it than that. Throughout all of these examples–and in more that delve into the social benefits of lighter skin color, and the reasons for school achievement gaps–Gladwell invites conversations about the complex ways privilege manifests in our culture. He leaves us pondering the gifts of our own history, and how the world could benefit if more of our kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their remarkable potential.

Order now: Outliers: The Story of Success

Get Fit and Have Fun at the Same Time!

Friday Toy Sale

You didn’t think all you could do on your Nintendo DS Lite was to play Yoshi’s Island and Mario Kart all day long, did you? Or are you more of a Dr. Kawashima kind of DS game player? Whatever the case, get with the program; you can cook up a storm with Personal Trainer: Cooking on your trusty DS. It’s so wonderful because the DS is small and will fit on your counter while you cook and remind you about what you need to do to prepare some of the most tastiest dishes on earth. Check it out.

First things first: select a recipe. With 245+ to choose from, Personal Trainer: Cooking makes it easy to find what you’re looking for by helping you browse by country, ingredients, difficulty, cooking time, cooking technique or even calorie count.

Once you’ve found something that looks yummy, take a look at the ingredients. Out of butter or need to buy some cumin? Just tap them with the stylus to automatically add the ingredients to your Shopping List. Making several dishes tonight? Just keep tapping ingredients – your Shopping List keeps it all in one place for you. Now that you’ve got your ingredients, it’s time to start cooking. The DS Chef is there with you, talking you through every step along the way. Don’t know how to fillet a trout? Watch the demonstration video when you get to that step. Didn’t quite catch the last step? Just say “Repeat,” and the Chef will explain it again. You can pause the recipe at any time to consult the Cooking A-Z guide, and prompts will appear within recipes for specific terms you might need more information about.

Click below to get one now.

Personal Trainer: Cooking

Complete with a tin storage box to reduce clutter, this set of 11 round, stainless-steel cookie cutters comes in handy for all seasons. The cutters range in size from 3/4 inch high to 3-5/8 inches high, and they have rolled edges on top to protect fingers during the cutting process. They’re constructed to be long-lasting and are dishwasher-safe.

* Professional gauge pastry and cookie cutters with a plain edge.
* Set of 11 in a reusable storage tin, ranging in size from 7/8″Dia to 3-3/4″Diameter
* Stainless steel.

Get these cookie cutters now

* Full-color 3-D spinning globe
* 7 touch-sensitive areas allow you to select information about all 7 the continents
* 10 activity buttons
* Hundreds of facts about people, music, clothing, customs, geography, food, animals, inventions and languages
* Built-in LCD screen visually reinforces the learning
* More than 20 minutes of audio entertainment
* Narrated by a cheerful character

Get a Talking Globe now

This brilliant diamond in a bezel setting sparkles and catches the eye because of the clarity of 12 (in gem language, that is), color J (also gem lingo).

It’s surround by a white gold setting and 16 inch chain, which will be gently displayed a proud owner’s neck for all to admire. Isn’t it sweet?

Get one now

Cyber Monday is a day where you can shop online, free of shoppers angst and at the same time receive some of the best prices on all kinds of items. Many online stores will also offer free shipping on Cyber Monday. There are deals to be had, so get shopping! Online, that is.

Don’t know where to start?

Click here to find the best bargains online

The story: Bella Swan’s move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Bella’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear.

Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

Click here to find out more about Twilight

What is Scrapbooking and Where Did it Come From?

With the advent of affordable paper, precursors to modern scrapbooks became available to a wider array of people. Beginning in the 15th century, commonplace books, popular in England, emerged as a way to compile information that included recipes, quotes, letters, poems and more. Each commonplace book was unique to its creator’s particular interests. Friendship albums became popular in the 16th century. These albums were used much like modern day yearbooks, where friends or patrons would enter their names, titles and short texts or illustrations at the request of the album’s owner. These albums were often created as souvenirs of European tours and would contain local memorabilia including coats of arms or works of art commissioned by local artisans. Starting in 1570, it became fashionable to incorporate colored plates depicting popular scenes such as Venetian costumes or Carnival scenes. These provided affordable options as compared to original works and, as such, these plates were not sold to commemorate or document a specific event but specifically as embellishments for albums. In 1775, James Granger published a history of England with several blank pages at the end of the book. The pages were designed to allow the book’s owner to personalize the book with his own memorabilia. The practice of leaving pages to personalize at the end of books became known as Grangerizing. Additionally, friendship albums and school yearbooks afforded girls in the 18th and 19th centuries an outlet through which to share their literary skills, and allowed girls an opportunity to document their own personalized historical record previously not readily available to them.

The advent of modern photography began with the first permanent photograph created by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826. Photography became available to an ever-widening population with the invention of George Eastman’s paper photographs in the late 1880s and the mass production of the Kodak Brownie, a camera designed to be simple (and inexpensive) enough for a child, in 1900. This allowed the average person to begin to incorporate photographs into their scrapbooks.

Old scrapbooks tended to have photos mounted with photomount corners and perhaps notations of who was in a photo or where and when it was taken. They often included bits of memorabilia like newspaper clippings, letters, etc. With the availability of printed material it is likely that the content of scrapbooks shifted away from one’s own hand-writing or drawings or those of one’s family members toward commercially available printed mat ephemera, memorabilia collections and journaling. Modern scrapbooking has evolved into creating attractive displays of photos, text, journaling and memorabilia.

Modern Day Scrapbooking

Marielen Christensen of Spanish Fork, Utah is often credited with reviving interest in scrapbooking in the United States. She began designing creative pages for her family’s photo memories, inserting the completed pages into sheet protectors collected in 3-ring binders. By 1980, she had assembled over fifty volumes and was invited to display them at the World Conference on Records in Salt Lake City. Marielen and her husband AJ authored and published a how-to book, Keeping Memories Alive, and opened a scrapbook store in 1981 that remains open today.

In addition to preserving memories, the hobby is popular for the strong social network that scrapbooking can provide. Hobbyists, known as “scrappers” or “scrapbookers,” get together and scrapbook at each other’s homes, local scrapbook stores, scrapbooking conventions, retreat centers, and even on cruises. The attendees share tips and ideas as well as enjoying a social outlet. The term “crop,” a reference to cropping or trimming printed photographs, was coined to describe these events. In the late 1990s, many scrappers in the US opened stores to turn their hobby into a business.[citation needed] Within approximately 5 years, many of those stores were forced to close due to a downturn in the economy and the fact that many store owners mistakenly assumed that loving to scrap was enough to run a retail store.[citation needed] Many owners simply didn’t know how to run their stores. During this time, more multi-level direct sales companies were formed. Several were closed due to mismanagement, while others weathered the tough times. It also gave rise to a new breed of business – the home-based retailer. Companies arrived to provide information for individuals who wanted to break out of the direct sales mold and go out on their own. While vendors had traditionally stayed away from the home-based market due to fraud, they began to warm to the idea of the non-traditional sales channels as a way to get their products in front of more consumers through home parties and workshops. Working with a company like this enabled them to tap into legitimate home-based retailers.

The scrapbooking industry doubled in size between 2001 and 2004 to $2.5 billion with over 1,600 companies creating scrapbooking products by 2003. Creative Memories, a home-based retailer of scrapbooking supplies founded in 1987, saw $425 million in retail sales in 2004. In the US, this hobby has surpassed golf in popularity: one in four households has someone playing golf; one in three has someone involved in scrapbooking.

Shop for Scrapbook Materials by clicking here: Scrapbooking

“Out of the thousands of new releases that came into our cubicles this year, we’ve chosen our 100 favorites, from an elegant pop-up alphabet and a deliciously dishy guide to fragance to an enthralling biography of an iconic leader and an encyclopedic history of a sport and the world that plays it. Here they are, so click below.”

Best Books of 2008

LJ Hutchen Silver C Flute with Case – 2 Year Warranty

For Photos, Specs and Prices Click Here: Handy Portable Stereo Recorder

Mamma Mia is, to me, the ultimate feel good movie of the year. I saw it three times this summer, and every time I loved it a little more. The critics seem to have forgotten that this is, in fact, supposed to be a musical. Musicals are NOT meant to be like “regular” movies.”

Meryl Streep’s performance was outstanding, hilarious, sweet, fun… and her voice rocks! Pierce Brosnan may not make a career as a singer, but he was wonderful, just as my very favorite actor Colin Firth. But really I loved all the actors and their performances… and Mamma Mia is on my wish list for christmas.

by Ute Mitchell “Phoenix Mommy”

Mamma Mia! The Movie

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From the luxurypropertyblog:

“A lot of movie fans travel to see the filming site of their favorite flick. And Chateau de Villette is no exception. Many fans of The Da Vinci Code movie starring Tom Hanks have visited this 185 estate about 35 minutes northwest of Paris. It was featured as Sir Leigh Teabing’s home. (Teabing was played by Ian McKellan.)

And it’s for sale for an undisclosed amount.

The main house has eleven bedrooms and bathrooms (with 18 beds and 17 baths total), all of which were remodeled within the last 10 years, according to public information. The Chateau was designed by architect Francois Mansart in 1668 for Louis XIV’s Venetian ambassador. The gardens were designed by Le Notre and spread out behind the home.

Villette is considered on of the most significant historical chateaux in France. It was designed around the same time as Versailles, earning it the nickname “Le Petite Versailles.” The dining room features an original 17th-century carved stone buffet and the limestone entry hall harkens back to the 17th century as well. The gourmet kitchen was installed in 2001. It also has two service kitchens and a banquet room.

And if that’s not enough, it has a gym, billiard room, library, music salon, and a grand staircase. The property also boasts a chapel and reception room for hosting weddings, a greenhouse, and horse stables. Many more modern amenities have been added to the property as well: wireless internet, a swimming pool, a tennis court. It basically has just about everything you could want. Including plenty of privacy. Gee, why didn’t Brad and Angelina just buy it instead of renting someplace else?” [source]

tags: france, french, Chateau de Villette, Da Vinci Code, luxury property in france

These skis feature the world’s first on-board power adjustment system. Want to lay it all on the line on the groomers? Turn the Power Switch to the on position. A carbon fiber rod compresses internal springs toward the front of the ski, which gives the Tigershark more power. Leave the switch off for cruising or the occasional tree run. Extended Double Grip construction lends this ski amazing edge hold, while the Tigershark’s iPT 14.0 TS Binding allows for a smooth, natural flex and precise transmission from skier input to the snow. Two layers of titanium make this all-mountain Volkl ski appropriate for advanced all-mountain skiers who Mach down the groom and enjoy the occasional off-piste foray.

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“It’s All You Need: The 12.3 Megapixel Nikon D90 D-SLR Premieres with the New 18-105mm VR Lens to Give Photographers Superb Image Quality, Live View Shooting, Nikon’s Scene Recognition System, and HD Movie Clip Recording.

Nikon Inc. today announced the D90, a digital single lens reflex (SLR) camera that redefines the creative boundaries of digital photography allowing photographers to easily create stunning still images and High Definition (HD) movie clips with sound — with the same camera. A host of Nikon core technologies were leveraged to develop the D90’s scope of versatility, calling on years of photographic and optical expertise. Whether consumers are graduating from an advanced compact digital camera or are a seasoned D-SLR enthusiast, the Nikon D90 emphasizes brilliant image quality and versatility with its exclusive advanced Scene Recognition System, intuitive creative controls, blazing fast performance and the industry-first ability to create HD movie clips at 720p in the new D-Movie mode.

Inspired by Nikon’s acclaimed flagship DX-format digital SLR camera, the D300 and building on the success of the wildly popular D80, the D90 delivers stunning image quality. The CMOS image sensor and 12.3 effective megapixels combined with Nikon’s exclusive EXPEED image processing system deliver outstanding images with fine details, smooth tones, brilliant colors and low noise across a broad ISO range.

Photographers are able to easily compose stunning images using the Live View Mode on the large 3-inch 920-k dot high-resolution LCD screen. The 11-point auto focus (AF) system utilizes Nikon’s exclusive Scene Recognition System and Face Detection to help make the best shot in a variety of environments. Matched with the new versatile AF-S NIKKOR 18-105mm Vibration Reduction (VR) image stabilization lens, and a burst rate of up to 4.5 frames per second, photographers can confidently capture fast action and precise moments as they unfold. Also helping to ensure no missed memories, the D90 offers fast handling with a power-up time of a mere 0.15ms and split-second shutter response measuring just 65ms, eliminating the frustration of pictures lost to shutter lag.
“The D90 delivers incredible imaging performance and control, setting a new standard for its class. This marriage of outstanding still image performance and HD movie clip capacity represents the dawn of a new age for D-SLR cameras. The D90’s handling characteristics and long list of features are sure to deliver the photographic experience that Nikon photographers have come to expect from Nikon engineering,” said Edward Fasano, general manager for marketing, SLR System Products at Nikon Inc. “Everyone at Nikon is especially eager to see the myriad of ways that imaginative D90 photographers will explore the world of cinematic 24fps HD video through the eyes of NIKKOR optics.”

Legendary Image Quality
For shooting in a variety of lighting conditions, the D90 has a wide sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 3200 (expandable to Lo 1 ISO 100 and Hi 1 ISO 6400) to deliver incredible low-noise images. The camera also employs an Image Sensor Cleaning function that works to free image-degrading dust particles from the sensor’s optical low-pass filter, helping to ensure spot-free images.
The new D90 companion lens, the AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR provides a versatile focal length, and the benefits of Nikon Vibration Reduction (VR) imaging stabilization technology. Nikon VR reduces the image blurring effects of camera shake allowing photographers to shoot hand-held at as many as 3 shutter speeds slower than would otherwise be possible*, assuring dramatically sharper images, even in challenging lighting conditions.
Borrowed from Nikon’s professional line of digital cameras, the D90 is the most affordable camera to include Nikon’s Scene Recognition System and adds newly-developed advanced Face Detection technology. The intelligent Scene Recognition System interprets color and brightness information of each individual shot from the 420-pixel RGB sensor, and applies changes to AF, auto exposure and auto white balance. The D90 can also detect up to five faces using the new Face Detection system, producing flattering portraits with astounding definition and accuracy. While in playback mode, simply press the zoom button and portraits captured with Face Detection can be immediately magnified to ensure proper focus on the subject and faces are displayed on the LCD screen within brackets for easy reference and subject tracking.

The D90 benefits from Nikon’s comprehensive digital image processing engine, EXPEED, which provides smooth tones, rich colors and defined image details, as well as enhanced processing performance. Additionally, Nikon’s exclusive 3D Color Matrix Metering II helps to ensure accurate exposures, even in the most challenging lighting conditions. Evaluating each scene, input data from the system’s sensor is automatically referenced against an internal database of over 30,000 scenes derived from actual photographs to calculate correct exposure values. To push the creative boundaries even further, Variable Center-Weighted metering and Spot metering centered on the active focus area are also available, as are exposure compensation and auto exposure bracketing.

The Next Big Blockbuster
For the first time in digital SLR photography, Nikon introduces the addition of the D-Movie mode, allowing consumers to create their own HD movie clips (1280 x 720) with sound from their D-SLR camera. Photographers will appreciate the cinematic qualities that come from the 24fps frame rate, which matches theatrical film, whether producing vacation clips or creatively melding stills with video. Additionally, the large size of the D90’s DX-format sensor, combined with the optical superiority and broad selection of NIKKOR lenses, provides shooters with the ability to capture amazing perspectives not possible with typical camcorders. D-movie clips also benefit from Nikon VR image stabilization, which is automatically activated during recording to aid the low-light capability that trumps many other hybrid devices. Users can record movie clips onto an inserted SD / SDHC card, created as Motion JPEG AVI files that are easily edited with widely available video editing software. The D90 also features an HDMI terminal, allowing viewing of both pictures and movies on High Definition televisions…”

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This excellent mixer is for the serious home baker and features a 575-watt motor with heavy-duty transmission and a 6 quart bowl combined to give you the power and capacity to mix 13 dozen cookies, 8 pounds of mashed potatoes, or over 8 loaves of bread.

I didn’t make my own bread before but now I only make it at home with the Kitchen Aid and it is so incredibly easy. Much better tastewise and healthwise for you too, instead of buying premade, packaged icky bread in the market.

KitchenAid’s unique planetary mixing action provides faster, more thorough blending of ingredients all the way to the edge of the bowl, without ever rotating it. The rugged, all-metal quality construction and Commercial-style motor protection assure a long life of trouble-free, dependable and quiet operation.

Other features include a professional style bowl-lift that makes it easy to lift the bowl into the mixing position, 10-speed slide control ranges from a very fast whip to a very slow stir and a power hub for optional attachments. Included with the Stand Mixer, a burnished aluminum flat beater, PowerKnead spiral dough hook (designed to replicate hand-kneading to handle 20% more dough than previous models), a professional wire whip and pouring shield.

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It’s never too late to start a garden even though we are getting ready for fall. What am I talking about, you ask? Grow food indoors. Why not? If you have a spare room, or better yet a basement, you can grow many things indoors. How?

Get a Turbo Grow Room or a 36 Plant Dual Chamber Hydroponic Grow Cabinet!

These allow you to easily grow vegetables and herbs indoors. The latter looks like a regular cabinet so you can even put it in your living room. No one would even know there are living plants inside the cabinet. Closed, that is!

Features

• High MOI, 460cc titanium driver. The largest size driver allowed by the USGA for maximum distance.
• 3 & 5 Fairway Wood Patented low profile club face lowers the center of gravity
• 7, 8 & 9 Hybrid Irons.

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Click here for more info and to see a photo of the tent.